- Kenan Muchemi, the only surviving member of the family, said he could not believe that he lost his entire family in a day.
- Nakuru Town East deputy subcounty police commander Wilson Nduati said the bodies were discovered after fire was put out.
A woman and her two daughters died in a mysterious fire that destroyed their house in Manyani estate in Nakuru county on Wednesday.
Image: BEN NDONGA
A woman and her two daughters died in a mysterious fire that destroyed their house in Manyani estate in Nakuru county on Wednesday.
The bodies of Judy Nyambura and her daughters, Shadiya Wangare, 17, and Limsy Wanjiru, 11, were found in their bedrooms.
Nothing was salvaged from the 8am fire that left residents in shock. Some suspected foul play.
The single mother was living with the girls. The only other member of the family, her son Kenan Muchemi, 19, was living with his cousins in a neighbouring estate.
Muchemi said he went to his mother’s house as usual to check on the family, only to find it in flames.
“I quickly joined the people who were putting out the fire," he said. "I was sure my mother and sisters had managed to escape,” he said.
Muchemi said he could not believe he lost his entire family in a day and appealed to the government to swiftly investigate the cause of fire.
Nakuru Town East deputy subcounty police commander Wilson Nduati said the bodies were discovered in the house after the fire finally was extinguished.
“The cause of the fire was not immediately established as some residents alleged that it might have been an electric fault or foul play,” he said.
Nduati said police are investigating to establish the cause of the inferno.
The bodies were removed to the Nakuru Municipal mortuary for postmortems.
A neighbour, Bishop Geoffrey Buliba of Christian Brotherhood Church, said residents managed to put out the fire with the help of construction workers from a nearby site.
He said the workers used construction equipment to pump water on the burning house as they waited for the fire fighters from Nakuru county government.
Another neighbour, Mary Karanja, said the house had a padlock on the door, which would have either been locked from the inside or outside.
She said rescuers spent a lot of time breaking into the house.
Karanja said a team from Kenya Power Company responded and disconnected power supply to allow safe entry into the house.
(Edited by V. Graham)